The First
by stuckbeingrachel
Summary: 5th part of 12 Days of Christmas! Read and review!


**Enjoy!**

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Jerome unlocked the front door of the small two story house and walked in, staring at the big festive wreathe on the door. He didn't remember that. He slipped out of his coat and hung it on the rack, kicking the door shut so the cold would remain outside. He strolled into the living room, eyeing all the Christmas decorations that hadn't been there before he left work that morning; a nativity scene, snowmen, lights, reindeer, Santa Clause in a sled, a mechanical Santa Clause holding a glowing candle, snowflakes on the windows, more wreathes, stockings over the fireplace, pinecones.

His wife pounced on him instantly, wrapping her arms around his neck. He laughed, looking down at her as she put a Santa Clause hat on his head. He reached up to take it off but she stopped him.

"J, please,"

"It's not my thing, darling." He shrugged, removing it again. She grabbed it from him and put it back on his head.

"If you wear it you'll get a Mara kiss." She smiled, tilting her head.

"Okay," he murmured in defeat, leaning down and she pressed her lips to his cheek. "Hey, that wasn't—"

"I didn't say what kind of Mara kiss you'd get." She winked.

He stared at her and then grabbed her chin, pecking her lips. "I didn't say I'd let you get away with that."

"Jerome, can we go down to the Christmas tree lot?"

"You want a real one?" he made a face.

"Of course, it's a Jaffray family tradition!"

"But you're a Clarke now," he pointed out softly.

She straightened in his arms. "I know, I just thought that we could take all of the Jaffray and Clarke traditions and mix them together to make a perfect Christmas."

"I guess, but my family didn't really have any traditions. We just did Christmas. It wasn't a big deal."

"But it is a big deal! Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year! Please, J?"

Jerome chuckled. She looked like a child on Christmas morning. She looked so excited and he had a feeling this was her favorite part of Christmas. He nodded and she grinned, pulling his hand to the front door and he helped her into her coat.

Jerome stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat, following Mara through the variety of pine trees quietly. She ran up to one that was a little taller than him and ran up to it.

"What about this one?"

"It's fine," he smiled slightly.

Her happy grin immediately vanished, she put her outstretched arms down, and stepped out of the way as a big family looked at the tree she had picked. "I'm sorry; I haven't been very considerate have I? I just want this Christmas to be perfect, but if you want a store bought tree, that's fine."

"No, it's fine, love, I'm just surprised you picked that one." He smirked.

"Why?" she planted her hands on her hips, arching a challenging eyebrow at him.

"I thought you would have wanted that absolutely spectacular one over there." He pointed to a tree on the other side of the lot; it was taller than the other one and rounder, the branches were all there and it was all green.

Her brown eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock. "Can we get that one?"

"Absolutely, baby," he grinned, taking her hand and leading her to it.

* * *

Mara jumped up giddily and reached into the last box of Christmas tree decorations. Jerome sat on the arm of the sofa and sipped from his mug of hot chocolate.

"This was my mother's angel." She lifted the small blonde angel, dressed in a white dress with silvery wings out of the box with great care, eyes sparkling.

"I wish I had known your mother." He said gently, setting his cup down on the coffee table.

"I wish she had known you." She replied and held out the tree topper. "Put it on."

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that." He shook his head. "It was your mother's; you should put it up."

"But the man of the house always does it! It's tradition." She sighed and gazed at him with tender eyes. "Even if your family didn't have any traditions, we're a new generation of Clarkes – we can start our own traditions!"

Jerome laughed and took the angel from her. He placed it on the top of the tree easily and when he turned to her, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He kissed her lips lightly and she giggled, pulling him to the sofa.

"Let's watch a Christmas movie and eat cookies and drink hot cocoa and eat my mum's Christmas popcorn!"

"Which movie?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"_The Ultimate Gift_; it's one of my favorite Christmas movies."

* * *

Jerome crawled into bed, slipping under the covers beside Mara. She sat up, leaning back on the headboard. "So, why do you have to decorate so much all of a sudden? I mean, back in school and even when we spent Christmas with your dad last year, you didn't go all out like this. Like, you really—"

"I'm sorry." she cut him off, biting her bottom lip. She twiddled her thumbs as she continued, "I'll take some of the decorations down if you don't like them."

"No, love, that's not what I'm saying. I'm okay with it; it's not like I hate Christmas. I was just wandering why it just seems like a different Christmas than all the others we've spent together."

"But it's the first Christmas we're spending together, married." She responded and Jerome tilted his head back in realization. "I wanted it to be special."

"You did a fantastic job, babe." He complimented.

"Thank you," she sent him a secretive smile. "But my Christmas decorating didn't stop in the hallway."

He cocked his head in question. She pointed above them and he directed his eyes to the ceiling. He grinned, letting out a low chuckle.

"Now, that's a family tradition right there. Not just for Christmas; I'm keeping that there all year round." He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers under the mistletoe that hung above their pillows.

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**Review?**

**One day closer to Christmas! Who's excited? :3**

**"Return to sender; address unknown; no such person; no such zone. This time I'm gonna take it myself and put it right in her hand, and if it comes back the very next day, then I'll understand."**

**-Rachel**


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